Ten Years of Brewing Against the Machine—Year 2 / 2017 / IDEALISM

Ten Years of Brewing Against the Machine—One Year at a Time

To celebrate a decade of Mad Priest we’re looking back—one year, one roast, one glorious mess at a time. This is the story of our evolution: through chaos and clarity, hustle and heresy, growth and grind. And maybe, just maybe, how we found a little balance in the brew. Each year we’ll reflect with a word that we feel encompassed who we were and what we were doing.

Let us reflect on the second year: the year of our Lord 2017 | IDEALISM

As we entered year two only a short month after opening Broad St., I entered it hot from the flames discussed from year one last week. One would think they should take it slow, test the waters, be prudent. Nah. Not me. For better or for worse, I got caught up in a level of idealism for my business and mission that was clearly unrealistic from a sustainable level. But I pushed. Maybe it’s that naive drive that got me to where I am today? Maybe. Probably. Who knows? Who cares? But reflecting back, I can confidently say that I was trying to do too much. 

Despite my good intentions, much of what led to these ideas and growth was rooted in a blend of confidence and arrogance that in recent years has come to a head and I was faced with some real demons. 

But there is no point in trying to break down certain past realities. Sometimes I think just seeing something plainly and accepting it makes life, and moving forward, much easier. Because if I am being honest, there isn’t anything I would have changed or that I regret. I just don’t see life that way.

So what made 2017 idealistic? 

First, despite being in a 400 sq ft space with essentially no money, I acted like I was gonna be the next Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani, or Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia. I truly thought that. I strove for that. A great blend of psychosis and enthusiasm lol. 

Tarig would bag coffee until a customer came in, and then would step two feet over to make a drink on our La Marzocco Linea Mini, a machine though with some commercial components, was truly meant for home use. Pretty quickly I found myself spending most of my time on the roaster because it could only roast 12lbs at a time. That’s when I learned that I do not like roasting. What a great discovery right after starting a coffee roasting company! Granted, I was good at it. I had invested lots of time and money into getting certified through the Specialty Coffee Association, because I genuinely cared about learning everything and striving to be the best I could be for myself and my customers. But standing in one place and staring at a screen was not what I was designed to do (and this was long before I was aware of my ADHD).

Two things happened that year that aided in my ability to transition out of roasting. First, I hired a coffee professional who was really interested in learning the process and helping out – which I learned quickly how that enabled me to be free to do more in the business. A necessary risk every small business owner gets faced with sooner or later, and arguably many choose to maintain control. Sarah was pivotal in helping me find ways to grow Mad Priest and begin testing ideas.

That idea was to use Mad Priest to host cultural events. After living in India and travelling extensively, I was hungry for more cultural experiences. I was always immersing myself in other cultures no matter where I went – so like most “ideas”, I saw a lack, and filled it. I wanted people to have a chance to experience what I have – beautiful people and cultures from around the world right here in our backyard. Diversity in thought, belief and culture is truly a strength and gift. It’s depressing that we’ve lost that idea in much of American thought and politics. If I do pray these days, it’s that people pick up and read history books. 

So in March we attempted to host our first event,’An Evening in India’. Thanks to our friend Sush, we were able to bring Raghu Dixit (check out their music!) all the way from the motherland with local Indian cuisine. It sold out. This launched a whole series of events over the next couple years that almost always sold out. Scotland, Venezuela, Ethiopia, World Refugee Day – to name a few.

The second event we did a few months later, An Evening in Iraq, launched Jinan’s Kitchen by my dear friends Wahab and Jinan who are now known today as The Hummus Bowl in St. Elmo! And they are thriving! I am so proud of them, and looking back, I am so honored to have been a small part of their story. 

In one sense, this development prevented me from really honing in on our business plan and focusing on coffee … but I just didn’t care. It made me come alive. To see people come together and be immersed in a culture, whether they had experienced it before or not, was lifegiving. I also learned how much I loved putting elaborate events together, the chaos of the day and coordinating all those involved (because the logistics of bringing a band from India, or a famous Venezuelan guitarist from Miami, isn’t always easy). 

I met so many amazing people throughout this process, and honestly, I feel like this solidified Mad Priest as a company that puts it’s money where it’s mouth is – or I should say, my mouth – and my mouth is loud…even a few months back at our McCallie Ave grand opening, I had several dear friends from this period of time come and support us which filled my heart with joy. 

This is us. 

So how did we end the year? By taking an even bigger risk. Thanks to TVFCU, we upgraded our initial roaster to a larger 12kg Probat that would double our capacity. Less than one year in, and we needed to go bigger. But don’t forget about that idealism! When the roaster arrived, not only did we have trouble getting it off the liftgate of the semi, but I didn’t think to measure the size of the door in relation to parts of the roaster. Talk about learning from our mistakes… Thankfully a couple of our friends and regulars, Rob and Nick, happened to be stopping by for a cup and helped us. I had to remove the door and take off several parts of the roaster, and by about a half inch on all sides, we got it inside.

Are you starting to see it? It’s one of the wild paradoxes in my life. I have a drive and an ability to thrive in chaos and problem solving, but oftentimes without much regard for those around me, which as I’ve learned, can have a damaging impact. I need to make decisions and just make it work! Or wait, I need to consider others and the collision of those choices! Or maybe both?

I am learning to observe life more holistically and make choices, albeit wild ones, with more intention for myself and my surroundings. But it was that chaos that also kept leading to more opportunities and realizations. So maybe it’s inevitable. We’re all dumb and young at one point, and we have the beautiful opportunity of the human experience to learn from things, grow and stretch, if we let it. So although I have curbed my idealism quite a bit, it still lingers, like a well trained service dog that just follows me around and is ready for when I need it (though occasionally it still acts up every once and awhile). 

+Michael, High Priest

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